[2] The Victorian structure, a sham castle facade constructed of rock-faced masonry, consists of two circular castellated turrets with round-arched entrances, linked by a wall with a gateway.

[1] Metal railings would have been fixed around the pit, and the bear also had a wooden pole to climb up to be fed sandwiches and buns.

The zoo had some smaller cages containing birds, tortoises and monkeys, but the bear pit was the only live animal exhibit.

[9] In 1983, the Civic Trust applied for planning permission to turn the Bear Pit into an open-air theatre, but this proposal was withdrawn.

[13] In 1986, the gothic rock band The Mission, which formed in Leeds, had their first photo shoot at the Bear Pit.